Building Blocks and Stumbling Blocks.

The Writing Process

Newsletters 17 & 18

(NB.Two in one week as I am off to write and draw in France   for three weeks).

Building Block or Stumbling Block?

Despite my enthusiasm last week about good syntax I do realise that an over-awareness of the significance of syntax can be a stumbling block. This happens when you - the newish writer -  perhaps because of an officious schoolteacher  school or a clumsy and thoughtless editor – become frozen, like a rabbit in headlights, at the embarrassment of being seen as stupid when at first you don’t quite get the difference – for instance -  between verbal storytelling and storytelling on the page.

          There were times when editors would work with very promising writers who were not quite there in terms of their syntactical skills. But nowadays they are very busy – even exhausted - with their corporate strategies and business models.

            So you have to do so much more of it yourself!

           The point is, you shouldn’t let this part of writing your story be a stumbling block for you. If you edit yourself with a more certain knowledge of syntax, the manuscript you present to others for appraisal or publication will not have laughable flaws that could blind the readers to a wonderful story.

            This process of ultimate self-editing is even more crucial in these days of indie publishing and eBooking. One of the biggest criticisms of the contemporary flood of self-published eBooks is the variable standard of editing without the filter of a tribe of publisher’s editors to catch the flaws.

          You should realise that, while attending closely to your own syntax can be intricate, in the end it is relatively easy and - dare I say it? -  it is fun. Every writer should be the master of his or her own language. Grammar stands there alongside originality, vision, vocabulary, narrative skill as a crucial tool for the successful writer, whatever their approach to publishing.

Focusing on Valuable Building Blocks

The first crucial building block for a you as a writer is your ability to create a world, to build a narrative, to have an extensive vocabulary (all that reading!) and a mind that sees the world afresh –dreaming dreams and having visions.

           A second building block consists of your innate sense of story imbued with the magic of your own unique sense of language so that you become comfortable when you get to the stage of completing your initial charge of pure creative writing and reach the point when you start editing your own work. Here, as I have been saying I reckon there is value in seeing your own prose more objectively in terms of your unique use of grammar and syntax

        Once you begin to know just how the rules of syntax work then you can choose, if you want, to break them. But that will then be a knowing process.  You will know what you are doing.

        And, as you clarify and edit your own prose, as a natural writer and a good storyteller you can comfort yourself in knowing that there are some individuals out there who know syntax up to their eyeballs but could never pen an original, good story in a hundred years.

Let’s have a quick look at some basics to start out on this process.

In my workshops, when they begin to trust that I won’t laugh at their innocence, some new writers will ask crucial questions what seem to be the arcane mysteries of  grammar and syntax and these questions are the key to their further writing development.

Among these questions will be:

1.     Just what is that makes a proper sentence a sentence?

2.     What is it that constitutes a paragraph?

3.     What’s the difference between dialogue told and dialogue said?

For the Record:  A Simple Definition:  A sentence expresses a complete thought and must contain at least a subject (a noun) and (a verb).  A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark.

Click HERE for a good place to explore further the grammatical nature of sentences, paragraphs and dialogue

A Quick Thought about Paragraphs

The rules on paragraphing can be ambiguous. I suggest that a paragraph is a whole idea, a piece of speech or an aspect of the whole setting, building up the climax of the narrative within the chapter or the short story. It promotes the transparency of the narrative. It does not get between the reader and the narrative.

        Look at the paragraphing   on any page. Notice that white space on the page promotes space and clarity; it allows the reader to breathe his own way into your narrative.

Top tip. When the idea, the speaker, the setting changes, embark on a new paragraph.

Ursula le Guin on The Significance of Sentences

The other day I was reading again

Click Ursula 

Ursula le Guin’s seminal ‘Steering the Craft’. I was excited again when I came across her chapter Sentence Length and Complex Syntax.

In this chapter, among other wise advice, Le Guin comments: 

The basic function of the narrative sentence is to keep the story going and keep the reader going with it.

And

But for the most part, prose states its proper beauty and power deeper, hiding it in the work as a whole.

         It is a creative writing truism that modern prose tends towards the greater use of shorter, more journalistic sentences to roll a story on faster, in the manner of a film, flashing from scene to scene. This could be how your ‘hear’ your story as you are writing it. It will have an effect on your writing style. It’s useful to be conscious of this as you are editing your own work.

         However in her compelling chapter Le Guin recommends a combination of short and long sentences for the most successful prose:

‘To avoid long sentences and the marvellously supple connections of complex syntax it to deprive your prose of an essential quality. Commenctedness is what keeps a narrative going.’

         In the chapter she quotes examples from a wide field of writers who use the balance of long and short sentences:  Jane Austen; Harriet Beecher Stowe; Mark Twin; Virginia Woolf

Best Advice

It’s not a bad idea to read two pages of their work and note what how grammar and syntax works in the case of these great writers – and of any great modern writers whom you admire.

       For me, page-long paragraphs – acceptable in nineteenth century and early twentieth century novels - will give a modern novel a dated feel. Language and grammar are dynamic forces in prose; they change through time. They evolve.

            One evolution is the way some writers may have a very clean and naturalistic almost film script way to present dialogue which can make. This can make some purists tut-tut.  Modern writers are making their own choices. So now you as a writer can break the rules in this evolving form, as you look for the best way to engage your readers, make them commit to your narrative.

As always my very best advice is to read more, and more regularly - both classic modern well-written novels. With your writer’s cloak on you can look at how sentences, paragraphs and dialogue presents themselves on the pages of modern novels and short stories.

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Newsletter 18

Why does Syntax become a Stumbling Block?

This happens when you – perhaps from school or a clumsy and thoughtless editor – become frozen like a rabbit in headlights at the embarrassment of being seen as stupid when you don’t quite get the difference between verbal storytelling and storytelling on the page.

           At one time editors would work with very promising writers who were not quite there. But nowadays they are very busy, exhausted with their corporate strategies and business models, so you have to do it yourself,

          So don’t let syntax be a stumbling block. If you edit yourself with a clear knowledge of syntax the manuscript you present will not have laughable flaws that could blind the readers to a wonderful story.

This assiduous process of ultimate self-editing is even more crucial in these days of indie publishing and eBooking. One of the biggest criticisms of the flood of self-published eBooks is the variable standard of editing without the filter of a publisher’s editor to catch the flaws. I know this as it has happened to me.

       In any case, while syntax is intricate, it is relatively easy and - dare I say it? -  it is fun. Every writer should be the master of his or her own language. Grammar stands there alongside originality, vision, vocabulary, narrative skill as a crucial tool for the successful writer, whatever their approach to publishing.

Great Syntax at work

Ursula Le Guin also showcases the work of  

the immaculate Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby

‘Fitzgerald shows great skill in character and plot development by employing surging breathless ragged, choppy sentences…’

“We went upstairs, through period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers, through dressing rooms and poolrooms and bathrooms, with sunken baths…”

“They were gone, without a word, snapped out, made accidental, isolated, like ghosts, even from our pity”  

‘This was untrue. I am not even faintly like a rose. She was only extemporizing, but a stirring warmth flowed from her, as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words. Then suddenly she threw her napkin on the table and excused herself and went into the house.’

Look at these Fitzgerald examples and turn to a few pages of your own manuscript. You will probably see some good, effective sentences and paragraphs there and say to yourself ‘well done!’ 

If not - being the all-powerful writer – you can get to work and make some.

Happy writing, happy editing

Wendy

Passionate Substantive Editing for Publication

 Writing Process 9 Thursday April 16 2015

Hello again! Thank you for returning to my Newsletter. If this is your first time, welcome

As novelists who drive our own work to the level of publication

we have to recognise that in creating our novels we are using and developing  two distinctive pockets within our brains.

The first one – colourful as a Persian Carpet - is the original creative, brainstorming, intuitive, ballooning and character galaxy-making  pocket which involves creative, intuitive writing-by-hand and creative transcribing – all described here in earlier newsletters. The second – woven in sober Blue Calico - is the much calmer logical, diagnostic, editorial pocket in your brain.

Without making profound use of that first Persian Carpet pocket you will never produce a unique novel keyed into you own original world view which will excite readers.

And without using the editorial skills tucked into the sober Blue Calico pocket you will never produce a novel which is publishable. This is especially important in these days of independent publishing.

Many creative writers, by the time they are embarking on a substantial novel, already have a well-developed Persian Carpet pocket in their brain which deepens with each creative writing I have written my earlier Newsletters to encourage you to make this pocket made even larger and more fruitful and inspiring.

*

Self Editing

In my experience it’s easier to edit other people’s work that my own. After you have written your novel it is hard to see your prose objectively. By this time you almost know your prose off by heart, There is a real danger here of becoming word- or even paragraph-blind, as by now the text is lodged implacably in your head, You can rehearse it but you don't necessarily see it.  

So writers who are involved in their own editing need to develop their own objectivity – deepening and extending that blue editing pocket in their brain to use in further projects.

You can turn to literate friends to help edit your work although there might be a problem with objectivity here. And they might take on the inappropriate role of a teacher ‘marking’ a student’s assignment, which could not only be discouraging but can also be dysfunctional.

But help is at hand. Because of the current dynamic changes in the marketplace there are people out there who are now offering proof-reading and editorial services. If you use them,  at least a degree of objectivity can be guaranteed. But quality control is an issue. You need to be very careful that the person who is proofing or editing your work has his own, deep Persian carpet pockets to inform his or her judgement of your work.

One editor/proof-reader whom I consulted told me ‘[I pride] myself on seeing the work very much through the intentions of the author – seeing through his or her eyes, as should be the case.

So there are good free-lance editors around. And they can be helpful in contributing a professional outcome to your creative production. This same editor said: Maybe there is now a need seen to show a professional approach in what is still a largely amateur – and unfortunately, too often amateurish – marketplace.

I looked into the costs of such services and they do vary. I found some which I considered reasonable – as long the outcome is a professionally-proofed novel ready to go forward to publication.  I found that you get your book professionally proofed for the cost of a night away, or edited for the cost of a long week-end away, with your mate. Seems reasonable to me.

And it’s a way to show yourself and those around you that you have pride in your creative work and think it worth this investment.

It is possible and necessary, though, to develop your own editing skills. 

My recurring theme here is that you need to apply creative

passion to this editing process as well as the creative process of writing your novel. 

So here for you is my  

Guide to Substantive Self-editing.

This can apply to fictional prose of any length. And it is also a good idea to new edits a quarter, half and three-quarters of the way through a long novel. This is refreshing and inspirational for embarking on the next part of your novel. But this guide applies to a finished novel. You can adapt it as you will.

The first thing to do is to print off a paper copy of your transcribed story. You will work on the paper copy and enter your marked up paper changes onto your online copy when you have finished this substantive editing.

This is the process:

1.      Read the text out loud right through. Just mark anything that sounds lumpy or doesn’t flow. Some people actually record it and listen while they edit. I don’t do this but it seems like a fair idea.

2.      On the page itself scribble self-suggestions, questions, connections that occur to you.

3.      Remember that in this interactive dialogue with the text you are taking the role of the reader. Is it accessible to the reader as it is written?

4.      In the role of reader you will find yourself inserting amendments that enhance your meaning or improve the flow of your text.  

5.      The matter of chapters.

Remember new chapter, new page. Are you going to have chapter titles? If so they might occur to you in this read-through.  Chapters can be numbered. Or not.

6.     Sort out the paragraphs.

Paragraphs can be a puzzle. I meet good writers in workshops who haven’t yet got paragraphs nailed. It’s a bit of an ambiguous area. To a degree, paragraphing can be a matter of taste and style. Paragraphs in modern literature are distinctly shorter that those written in novels – say – before 1950. (See my examples.)

It’s a very good thing to note the way the writer uses  paragraphs when you read contemporary

Pages from E;izabeth Bowens brilliant novel
The Heart of the DayLong Paragraphs. Very 1946

novels (which you surely are…). Or, if you are going all post-modern you can get rid of paragraphs all together. It could appeal to an erudite if somewhat limited readership.

If we aim for High Quality Self Editing we have to make our own choices regarding paragraphing – but try and keep your reader in mind.

Me? I’m of the opinion that white space on the page makes text more accessible and helps the narrative to flow forward.

Here are my useful rules of thumb for paragraphing.

·        - New speaker, new paragraph

·      -   New idea, new paragraph

·       -  If you change place, time or action within a story, leave a double space and place the first line of the new paragraph on the margin and then continue normal indentation.    

7.     Now onto other Important  Things

·        Enter all these changes into your online copy

·        Carry out a computer spell and grammar check to iron out residual mis-spellings, expressions and extra spaces that have escaped your eagle eye. You may have imported new ones with your amendments.

·        Read the whole text again (I know! I know! But after all you are practising your High Quality Self Editing Skills.)

·        Now get your drafting notebook and open a page which you head Names. Make a single list of the names you use in your story. Check back through your story and make sure they are consistent.

·        Turn a page in your notebook and head the page Characteristics.  Now check back through your  sory on your computer for the physical characteristics of your characters (hair eyes, legs, feet  etc). Are they consistent?  Make tiny amendments to remind the reader of these characteristics as the story unfolds.

·        Spell/grammar-check any changed sections. Or the whole story again if necessary. You may have imported unforced errors with your changes. This often happens to me.

Outcomes

You have worked hard now, not just on writing but on editing your novel. It could be ready now for publishing. But before you take that plunge I would hand it to a new, interested reader to read through and react to it. Or I would invest in a professional proof-reader and/or editor to check that your Substantive Self Editing Skills have succeeded in making your novel the best it could possibly be.

You can be sure now that the Persian Carpet and Blue Calico pockets in your brain have expanded. They will ensure that both your intuitive story telling skills have deepened and your substantive editing skills have developed to be more fundamentally at the service of your intuitive writing.

Writer’s Note

A good and very easy  reference – and a fascinating read, if you are interested in the grammar element of your prose creation – is

Elements of Style by Strunk & White. 

You can get it on Kindle but I recommend that you buy it – new or second hand – so it cam sit on your writer’s book shelf the more you write and build your self editing skills and watch  can get more battered with Post It notes tucked in like ticker-tape.

Happy Writing, Happy Editing

Wendy